Frightening Revelations
by SlightlyCrazyYetSane
Summary: I felt my eyes widen in alarm, my jaw open up in realization, my eyebrows climb higher up my forehead. I was falling for him. I was falling for James Bloody Potter- R&R! CC is cherished! Rated T mostly because I'm paranoid.
1. A Frightening Epiphany

**Right, so my second fanfiction! This is part one of two, and again, please R&R. I'd love to get some CC :D**

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**Lily Pov**

Stomping through the library, making all the noise an elephant would, I searched for the familiar mop of black, messy hair. After I spotted it at the far back, I rushed toward it, ignoring the hole Madame Pince was burning in the back of my head. A group of terrified first years squeaked and scurried away (I wondered whether I, too, had been this mouse-like during first year) after they saw the beyond murderous expression on my face. I was going to kill him! Take that, admittedly attractive, neck of his, and snap it into half! How _dare_ he do this to me again?

I reached my intended destination in a matter of seconds (time seemed to fly by when you were in a rage-induced haze) and called out in a murderous, low voice,

"Before I murder you and dump your corpse in the Great Lake, explain why you're in the library, on a fucking _date_, when you were supposed to be at the Head's Meeting, discussing the plans for the Christmas Ball with me!" I finished, shouting the last bit. A chorus of "Shhh"s greeted my completely justified exclamation. The head of tussled hair I was currently talking to turned so I could see the face of the boy I was going to slaughter.

Hazel eyes blinked owlishly back at me from behind the round glasses, although I could see a flicker of fear in them. Thick eyebrows were raised slightly, full lips parted, and a general expression of alarm was present. All in all, I was very please by the dear-caught-in-headlights moment I had created.

"I… Um… Lily! What're you doing here?" he questioned nervously, hand jumping up to mess up his already messy hair-Merlin knows how it could get any messier- but I understood why he'd want to. He_did_ have really nice hair.

_Merlin, Lily. Snap out of it! You can fantasize about his hair _after_ you've made him grovel at your feet!_

I put on an extra sugary expression, the kind that promised pain.

"Well, you see, I _was_ in the Head Dormitories, waiting for the incompetent, moronic Head Boy to show up, when I realized that one hour was a _bit_ too long to wait for said Head Boy to show up for a pre-planned meeting. So, I go up to his posse's dorm to chew him out, and what do I find? He's not there either! I grab the smallest of his merry men, and force him to tell me where the idiot I'm looking for might be. By the time I find out that he's in the library, on a fucking _date_, I am beyond murderous. I set out for the library, full intending to find the arsehole that is known as James Potter, which is why I'm currently standing in front of you, thinking of ways to hide your life-less body!" By the end, my expression had turned into the one that I usually had when dealing with the likes of Potter: rage. The receiver of my rant had a frightened, nervous expression on his face, and I'm pretty sure he was thinking along the lines of "Oh, fuck". Oh, fuck, indeed.

"Well, um, you see… I was… It's just that… err," before he could form a coherent sentence, though, his best friend, Sirius Black, stumbled in, dragging a very frazzled looking Remus Lupin behind him. Oh,_joy_. Looked like the whole fucking crew was here.

"Prongs! Prongs!" he panted, resembling a dog, "Prongs, you have to watch out! It's Lily. She's out for your blood! Here, I brought the…" he trailed off, finally noticing that the woman he was talking about was standing in front of him. Dark eyes found mine, which were narrowed, his lips forming an 'o', and he flipped a lock of black hair out of his face.

"I…um… Lily! What are you doing here?" he questioned, adopting a politely curious expression. His attempt at innocence failed. Miserably. The resemblance in thinking between Potter and Black threw me off a bit, though. They had said virtually the same think, albeit a bit differently.

"You know _exactly_ what I'm doing here, Black. You were to warn him, weren't you?" I snarled. Sirius had the audacity to look taken aback.

"Warn him? Prongs? Why would I do that? I was just here to… to show Moony the dangers of the library. Yeah! Tell her, Moony!" and he pushed a disgruntled Remus in front of him.

Remus, for his part, acted as if this type of lunacy was completely normal, which, with Black around, it probably was. He blew a lock of light-brown hair out of his chocolate-colored eyes and glared at Sirius for a moment before turning to me.

"Yeah! Sirius was just showing me how… dangerous library occupants could be!" he said, although I could tell that he had made it up on the spot. On any other, normal, day, I might've appreciated his efforts. Too bad today wasn't any other day. I glared at him until he gulped nervously, and then rounded on James and slammed the palms of my hands onto the table, so that I was looking directly into his eyes.

"Listen to me, James, and listen carefully. I understand the first time you missed the meeting," I gestured toward Remus, "and I let the second time go because, hey, everyone makes mistakes. The third time, although I was a bit miffed that you had showed up thirty minutes late, you had a good excuse. Quidditch practice. But this? _This_? This is too much! I draw the line here, James! Have fun planning the whole Ball on your own, Potter, because I sure as _hell_ am not helping you!" Since I was in the library, I couldn't do more than whisper-shout, and still I got more "Shhh"s, but I think I got my point across well enough. James looked as if he had been hit by a bludger.

"You… you want me to plan the whole Ball? By _myself_? Lily, I can't do that! I'll fail at it, and it'll be a complete wreck! Please, Lily! Plus, this wasn't even a date! It was just a tutoring session that… went a bit longer than expected."

"A _bit_ longer than expected? Oh, yeah, James. It was _only_ a whole bloody hour that I sat in the dormitory, waiting for you, wasting my time and looking like a bloody idiot," I retorted at his awful attempt to placate me, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Why don't we just hold the meeting here? I mean, we have both Sirius and Remus here, not to mention Olivia. Please, Lily, I need your help! I'm completely rubbish at organizing anything like Balls. Not everyone is as amazing as you! Please, Roots! I can't do this without you," he finished off in a whisper, giving me sad, puppy-dog eyes. Perhaps it was the pleading, or the "I can't do this without you", or maybe even the rather ridiculous nickname (Roots. As in Ginger Roots. Yes, I wasn't amused either), but I huffed and, with a "Merlin, I don't even know why I'm doing this," I pulled out a chair and sat across from James. Sirius and Remus took that as some sort of signal, and they too sat at opposite ends of the six-seat table.

For the first time, I took note of this 'Olivia' character. Gorgeous brown hair tumbled just past her shoulders, ending in elegant curls. Prominent cheekbones, full lips, and beautiful, big blue eyes decorated her face. She was gorgeous, the type of girl that every guy wanted and every girl wanted to be, and she seemed to know it, if the holier-than-thou expression on her face as she looked me over was anything to judge by. She seemed to be a sixth year, and the current object of James' affection. I narrowed my eyes as she sneered slightly at me (Merlin, she even did _that_ prettily), and then turned to James, as if I didn't exist.

"So, you were teaching me the Theory of Transfiguration?" she asked, and her voice was so sweet, I was afraid I would have a heart attack from the sugar overload.

"Actually," I interrupted (I really didn't care if I was being rude. Who did this girl think she was?) "We were going to discuss the Ball. Do you have any ideas, Olivia?" I asked. Nothing wrong with trying to be friendly.

"No, _Lily_. _I've_ got more important things to think about than a Ball. Besides, I already have a date. You're taking me, aren't you James?"

Well, there went my attempt.

"Er, actually, Olive," (_she_ had a nickname too? One that was better than mine? I wasn't jealous. Really. I didn't even care), "I should let you know, I have to escort the Head Girl in first. We can still go together! I'd love to, really, but I have to escort Lily first," he finished off apologetically. He had made it seem as if I was forcing him to go with me, as if it was an unpleasant chore he had to do. I was hurt, and I don't think my attempt at concealing it went that well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Remus slap his forehead, as if saying, "Idiot!"

"You don't have to escort me, Potter. Especially if it's such a big problem. I'm sure we can talk to McGonagall, and she can have someone else escort me in."

James looked slightly alarmed.

"No! That's not what I meant. I'd love to escort you, Lily."

"Wait, so you're choosing _her_ over _me_?" questioned Olivia, in an I-don't-believe-this tone.

"No! I'm not!" James looked extremely harried now. He sighed, and started,

"Olive, I really want to go to the Christmas Ball with you, but I think that it will be completely unfair to Lily if I don't escort her. Plus, it's not like anything's going on between us. We're just friends," he finished, accompanied by a charming smile toward Olivia, ignoring me. Merlin, what was it with people and ignoring me? Was today National-Ignore-Lily day or something? I would've chewed James out for that, but the whole 'just friends' thing had, for some unfathomable reason, saddened me a bit.

"Well, alright. I suppose… if you're not taking her…" Olivia trailed off and gave him a small smile.

"Yes, I'm fine with it as well," I stated, pissed off. They were acting as if I wasn't even here!

"Of course, Lily. I'm glad you're fine with it. Thank you for going along with it. I truly am grateful," James said, smiling charmingly at me a well. Unintentionally, my heart did a small jig. Without thinking about it, I smiled back.

James had changed from the boy he had been in fifth year, to the much more mature man that was in front of me. It seemed as if he had been transfigured into someone new. He had stopped bullying people unnecessarily and had, truly, matured into someone that I genuinely enjoyed being with. Pranks, although not decreasing, had been changed so that they weren't as juvenile or immature. The most obvious change, however, was the fact that he had stopped asking me out 24/7. In fact, he had been the one to put forward the 'just friends' thing. Sometimes, I would actually find myself enjoying the mischief caused by the band of boys. Of course, the whole Head Boy thing had changed him as well. I had been expecting him to slack off, and be completely unconcerned with the job, but he had taken it very seriously. A natural-born leader, James was easy-to-follow, charismatic, and charming. I could see why, even though they didn't want to admit it, many teachers loved him and Sirius, who was equally, if not more, charming and charismatic.

I was pulled out of my nostalgic thoughts by James' voice,

"Uh, Lily… aren't we supposed to be discussing the Ball?"

"Oh, uh, yeah! So, do you have any ideas?" I asked.

We spent about five minutes talking about the Ball, discussing decorations, when we were rudely interrupted by Olivia.

"Um, listen, James, I was wondering… can I pitch in my ideas as well? I was hoping you wouldn't mind…" she said, and fluttered her eyelashes. That bitch! I had just asked her whether she had any ideas, and she had refused my attempt. Now she was asking James? I had just opened my mouth to say, "No, you can't. Sorry," when James said,

"Sure! That'd be great,"

The next five minutes were spent on Olivia and James discussing the Ball, for whenever I tried to pitch in, Olivia would cut me off, in an inconspicuous way, so the ever-oblivious James didn't know what was going on.

Even if she made it obvious, I bet James wouldn't notice. He'd be too busy staring at her and trying to woo her to actually realize what was going on, I though bitterly.

"Lily, you're unusually quiet. Don't you have any ideas?" James asked, in a teasing tone. Oh, so he had noticed me? I glared in return, then glared at Olivia. I was going to give him a piece of my mind!

"Well, I think that you and Olivia have it covered. Do tell me when you're done, will you? If it's not too much trouble to extract yourself from _Olive_, that is," I said sarcastically. Pushing my chair back, I stood up and stormed off. I couldn't stand to be near Olivia anymore, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she was basically dating James Potter.

Behind me, James let our a frustrated "Merlin, Lily!" and I heard Sirius go,

"Oooh, you've done it now, mate!"

As I was rushing off, I looked behind me, and was met with the oh-so _pleasant_ view of Olivia slobbering over James. A surge of emotions- Anger? Hurt? Betrayal?- coursed through me, and I wanted to punch both of them as hard as possible. Jinxing them wouldn't give me the proper satisfaction.

Only later, in the quiet of the hallway found on a Saturday, would I realize the most prominent emotion I had felt: Jealousy. Which meant... the frightening epiphany froze me in my tracks, as if I had been hit with Petrificus Totalus. I felt my eyes widen in alarm, my jaw open up in realization, my eyebrows climb higher up my forehead. I was falling for him. I was falling for James Bloody Potter.

**Sirius PoV**

"... if it's not too much trouble to extract yourself from _Olive_, that is," Lily said, sarcasm oozing from her tone. Prongs, for his part, looked completely and utterly lost. As Lily stormed off, and Prongs exclaimed "Merlin, Lily!", I said,

"Oooh, you've done it now, mate!"

Moony shot me a glare, and Prongs was still staring at Lily's receding back, staring after her flabbergasted. What an _idiot_. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go after her, you git! Merlin, even _I_ know not to let a bird storm off like that!"

That seemed to wake him up, but before he could do more than push his chair back, Olivia pulled him toward herself and kissed him full on the mouth. James, who was momentarily distracted by her feminine wiles, didn't push her back. Of course, that was the exact moment Lily chose to look back, and hurt-and was that _jealousy_?- flashed across her face before she turned back and redoubled her efforts to get as far away as possible from Olivia, not that I could blame her. Olivia seemed to be the whiny type of girlfriend, the one that wanted you all to herself, the one that didn't like it when you hung out with mates.

James finally pushed Olivia back.

"What the hell, Olivia? What is your problem?" James whisper-yelled-it would do no good to be kicked out of the library right now- and ran a hand through his hair, swearing.

"Great! Now I don't even know where she is!" he exclaimed, frustration evident in his voice. Moony sighed and ran a hand across his face, as if saying "Why do I have to deal with this?". In a tired voice, he said,

"Use the Map, James."

"The Map!" James slapped his forehead," Of course! How could I have

forgotten the Map?"

"I dunno, mate. You seem to do a lot of stupid things where one Lily Evans is concerned," I said, reaching into my pocket and taking out a Chocolate Frog. Drama was so exhausting!

"Sirius, how can you be eating at a time like this?" James asked, revulsion in his voice. I shrugged.

"Easy. I'm hungry," I said in a nonchalant manner.

"But... but James," Olivia whined, "Why are you going after her? I

thought... I thought we had something," she sniffed. I gritted my teeth in frustration. She was so annoying! Didn't she get that James wasn't that interested? He had pushed her away, after all.

"No, sweetie, you two don't. But if you want a quick snog..." I trailed off and winked, "I'm always here."

She sneered at me and I took a bite of my Chocolate Frog. As I watched James run off to find his beloved, Map in hand, I turned to Remus,

"This is why I never get too serious. Birds are too high-maintenance!"

Remus rolled his eyes.

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**Thoughts? Don't forget to review! And thanks for reading :D**

**~SCYS**


	2. Professional Help

**So, here's part two! Sorry it took so long... I was very busy. Anyway, please, read and review! Hope you enjoy :D**

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**Professional Help**

**Lily PoV**

After the horrid revelation, I realized that I needed help. Professional help. Which was why I was currently running around the Herbology greenhouse, yelling at the top of my lungs,

"Alice! Alice! Alice, I need your help!"

I frantically searched around the room, looking for the familiar head of blonde hair. She popped up behind a pot, so it looked as if her head was planted inside it, her green eyes glaring. Usually straight, silky blonde hair was tousled all over the place, slightly plump cheeks smudged with dirt.

"Merlin, Lily! What's wrong? Why are you disturbing my plants and me?" she demanded.

"It's… it's James," I said.

"James? What did that prat do to you? Oh, if that boy hurt you…" she trailed off, looking ready to grab her wand and Avada Kedavra him on the spot. Even though she was usually a sweet, even-tempered girl, she would _destroy_ you if you messed with her loved ones.

"No, no! It's nothing like that!" I exclaimed, and then added, "Well, actually it is like that. He's taking that _Olivia_to the Christmas Ball!" Alice blinked, once, twice, three times, looking lost.

"…So? What's wrong with that? You're not his mum, you know. He doesn't have to take who _you_ want him to take. I really don't get _how_that would- Ohhhhh," she said, realization dawning in her face, "You're falling for him, aren't you?" she said with a devious smirk. Another common misconception: although she looked like an angel with her innocent green-eyed, blonde-haired look, she could be a devious _minx_.

"What? I…no… it's not…fine!" I declared at her skeptical stare, "I am. Happy?" I huffed. Alice let out a girlish squeal.

"Oh, I knew it! You two will make such a _cute_couple! Lily, I'm telling you right now, _I_ am going to be the bridesmaid at your wedding. I don't care-"

"But that doesn't matter! He isn't taking me! He's taking… _Olive_," I said, spitting the word _Olive_ out, interrupting her rant, "And who said anything about _marriage_?" I added as an after thought. Alice completely ignored my question.

"Well, I think that you should tell him." At my blank stare, she added, "Y'know, about your feelings?"

"What? Are you bloody _insane_? Have the Venemous Tantacula finally got to you? I can't just _tell_him! Think! 'Oh, hey Potter. You know how I said that I'd rather date the Giant Squid than you? Yeah, well, I changed my mind. I like you know.' Yes, that would go _brilliantly_," I said sarcastically, "Besides, he said that we're 'just friends', Alice. _Just__friends_," I added, depressed.

"Yes, well, it worked me with me! _I_ am the one that went up to Frank, not the other way around, and look at us now! We have had a steady relationship for a year!" Alice ranted.

"Yes, well, sorry Alice, but I'm not you. Nor is my situation like yours. Frank was, _is_, a sweetheart! James is… _James_! Not only that, I told the boy that I'd rather date the _Giant__Squid_ than him! A slimy, greasy, aquatic animal!"

"And now look where you are! If someone told you last year that not only would you be friends with James Potter, but _falling_for him, what would you have said?"

"I would've told them to check into St. Mungo's, of course. But what does _that_ have to do with _this_?"

"Everything!" Alice exclaimed melodramatically, throwing her hands in the air, "It shows that you _can_ get along with him. It shows that things _change_. What is said doesn't make it a concrete fact, Lily. You can change. He can change. Anything's possible. And what if he does like you, hmmmm? What then? Are you going to stay here and whine about it? Are you going to be known as the forty-year-old-virgin, the one with too many cats? Or are you going to go and _do_ something about it?" she questioned.

"How do I know if he even likes me? What if... what if he completely rejects me?" I questioned stubbornly, not letting go of my argument.

"He won't," Alice stated, as if it was a fact that couldn't be proved wrong. I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. "Trust me, Lily, he likes you. Now, here's what I want you to do. I want you to go to the Christmas Ball, and I want you to tell him then. Because we all know that the boy has tried enough. It's your turn now. The Ball's only a few days away, and you can prepare yourself for it. Okay?" she asked, but I knew I had no real choice. She would never let me win.

"Fine," I sighed, lacking my usual self-confidence. It was hard enough telling a _normal_ boy that you like him. Potter? It was about ten times harder. No, a _hundred_ times. Merlin, what had I gotten myself into? Why couldn't things regarding James Potter ever be _simple_?

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**James PoV**

"Bloody hell!" I swore, scanning the map once more. Where had that woman disappear? You'd expect that, with most of the occupants down in Hogsmeade, it wouldn't be hard to find her. But since when had anything to do with Lily Evans been _remotely_ easy?

I finally found her in... the Herbology room? Why the _hell_ would she be there? She hated Herbology. The name next to her, though, clarified it. Alice Thomas. Of course. Who else would be willingly around plants that could eat you? And on a weekend? I shook my head, bemused. Obviously, Lily was visiting her friend.

I folded the Map into my trouser pocket, and took off toward Lily. She had stormed off, for a reason that I had no idea about. I think that Olivia had something to do with it. What, exactly, Olivia had to do with it, I was intent on finding out, hence my hurried rush toward the greenhouse.

"Oi! Watch were you're going!" a seventh-year Hufflepuff yelled as I pushed past him, only a few seconds away from the greenhouse.

"Sorry!" I called over my shoulder. I looked ahead again, and was alarmed to see red hair emerging in front of me. I tried to slow down, but wasn't completely successful, so I ended up bowling her over.

"Owww…" Lily moaned from beneath me. I quickly got up, and pulled her up as well,

"Merlin, I'm so sorry! Shit, are you okay? Do you need to go to Pomfrey?"

"I'm fine, James. Really," she said, rubbing the back of her head, "Just startled a bit."

"Listen, Lily. I'm really sorry for… er, whatever I did to make you leave," I started apologetically, but before I could make my full apology, I was interrupted by Lily herself.

"No, James," she sighed, "It was just me… being stupid. I'm sorry. Can we just continue the meeting?"

"Okay…" I said, thrown off by her apology. I had _not_ been expecting that, "Er… we can just go back to the lib-"

"NO!" Lily blurted out, and then blushed, "I mean, I just don't want to go back to the library. It was getting very crowded. Can we just go to the Heads' Dorms? Please?" she implored, looking at me with big, pleading green eyes. Merlin, how could I refuse _those_eyes? I found myself smiling and saying,

"Sure. Let me just tell Sirius and Remus were we'll be. Wanna come?" I asked. She gave me a beaming smile,

"Sure."

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**Sirius PoV**

As I watched Lily and James walk in the library, smiling, I muttered to myself while rolling my eyes,

"Ahhh. The two ever-oblivious lovebirds have arrived."

James finally arrived at our table, where Remus and I were seated.

"Hey, Moony, Padfoot," he started , smiling, then looked around, "Where's Olivia?"

"Oh, she ran off. Don't know why, though. I was having _such_ an amazing time talking to her," I answered, satisfied with my work. It hadn't been hard to scare her off. James rolled his eyes, although there was a small grin fighting to break free on his face,

"I should've known. Poor girl, having to endure _you_. Anyway, Lily and I were just going to the Heads' Dorms to discuss the Ball. So, you know, please don't disturb us."

I painted on an innocent expression, although I could feel the devious smirk on my face,

"Oh? Alone? What will you two be _doing_?" I asked, eyebrow raised, the slight smirk never leaving. I probably looked like the devil trying to pose as an angel.

James, as expected, glared at me. What I wasn't expecting was Lily's reaction. Eyes wide, instead of going 'Avada Kedavra' on me for the 'inappropriate' comment, she… _blushed_? Well, this _was_juicy. What was the little red head thinking in that head of hers? Before I could elaborate on her reaction, or lack of one, James growled,

"We won't be _doing_ anything, _Sirius_. Prat."

"Prat?" I exclaimed, and gasped melodramatically, mock offended, "Why, it's not _my_ fault that you have such a dirty mind and took the comment the wrong way," I smirked again, "Besides, what's the point of… _discussing_-" I gave an exaggerated wink here- "if you're not going to be doing anything? Isn't it a waste of such amazing time? Think of what you two could _do_, if you just decided to use your hands! Really, it's a waste of amazing talent to just sit around doing nothing. Besides, you'll probably enjoy yourself," I finished, and was just in time to dodge a thick, heavy textbook, that had just _happened_ to be lying around, thrown by Lily.

"Oh, shut up!" she whisper-shouted, although whether her face was red with anger or something else, I couldn't tell.

"But, why, Lily? Aren't you the one who's always telling us to do some work?" I dodged another book, but I ended up on the floor. I was just grateful that Pince wasn't around here right now. She would kill us if she found out that her books were being used as bludgers.

"Sirius, if you don't want to end up with an extra head, or perhaps without that digusting hair of yours, I would stop talking. Right _now_," Lily threatened.

"Why, Lily!" I started, but before I could properly defend myself, I had to dodge another book. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of seventh year Ravenclaws a few tables away give us dirty looks. Merlin, where was Lily _getting_ these books from?

"I'd listen to her advice, Padfoot, before you actually _do_ end up with no hair," Moony chuckled, thoroughly enjoying my misery. I glared at him. The _traitor_. He was taking _her_ side?

"Moony! How… how could you betray me like that? I thought… I thought we were friends!"

Moony rolled his eyes,

"C'mon, Padfoot. Stop the acting like such a drama queen. The joke's over."

"But I'm serious!" I exclaimed, but then realized what I had said. In my haste to reply, I had made a grave mistake. I saw Moony smirk, and at that moment, he looked completely _evil_.

"Why, yes, Sirius. I _know_ you're Sirius. Everyone does. Have you forgotten? Did the fall mess up your head even more than it already is?"

My glare redoubled. This proved his betrayal. First, he took her side over mine. And now? Now, he was using my best pun and joke, and was _using__it__against__me!_

"Oi, stop it, you two. Sirius, shut up and sit down. Moony… do whatever you want," James said, frustrationg evident in his voice, "Lily and I are going… so try not to kill him, Sirius, when we're gone."

"Hey! What about if he tries to kill me? We both know how unstable he is. Much more than I am," I said.

"Sirius, we _all_ know that _you_ are the unstable one, not Moony."

"Yeah, well, whatever," I huffed, crossed my arms, and pouted. I was _not_ a drama queen! I heard Lily laugh,

"Sirius, you just proved our point! Merlin, you boys…" she trailed off, shaking her head, "Anyway, let's get going, James. We already wasted quite a bit of time."

"Yeah, okay," James said, replying, a lovesick, idiotic grin on his face. To my surprise, Lily smiled back, just as enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes, disgusted.

As soon as they turned and walked a few paces toward the door, I called out,

"Have fun, you too! But not _too_ much fun. We don't need any little James _or_ little Lily's walking around!" Then, I ducked behind Moony. I wasn't going to take any chances with Lily. She was top of the class in Charms for a reason.

As I peeked out from behind Moony (who was sighing and shaking his head, in that "What have I gotten myself into?" manner he usually had around us), I saw James forcefully pull Lily out of the library.

I knew mates were good for something.

* * *

**Lily PoV**

As James and I walked back, I couldn't help but notice him out of the corner of my eye. Of course, this wasn't very new (he _was _quite attractive. Even _I, _Ms. Ever-Oblivious-Evans, could see that when I was in my denial stage), but now, my thoughts kept wandering to the fact that James and I were walking in an empty corridor, _alone_, with no one around to witness anything. Not only that, we were going to the Heads' Dorms, where we were even _more_ alone from everyone else. Sirius's words kept coming back at me.

_What __will __you __two __be _doing?

_Have fun! But not _too_ much fun!_

Merlin, I just wanted to grab that boy, shove him against a wall, and snog him sense-

Ahem. Moving on.

I should've seen this coming. How could I not fall for him, after he had finally become decent? And now that he was over me... well, _that_ just put the dismal cherry on top of my sundae of misery. Honestly! I. Should. Have. Known! He was charming, fun, witty, nice, good-looking, and not to mention those-

"Hey, Lily. What's wrong? You're... really quite," James's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, once again.

"Oh, um, it's nothing. I was just thinking..." I trailed off, obviously wanting to change the topic.

"About?" he prodded, even though I _knew_ he knew I wanted to change the topic.

"It's nothing, James. Can we just talk about something else?"

"Lily, there's something wrong. I can tell. Don't try and hide it from me. Now, what is it? Did Alice say something?"

He was getting me angry.

"No, it's nothing like that. Just... drop it, will you?"

"No, Lily, this is obviously bugging you. You seem incredibly uneasy and fidgety. So, tell me."

"No."

"Lily."

"No!"

"Lily!"

"_No_!"

"Lily, tell me! I. Want. To. Know!"

My dismal attempt at holding back my temper failed. Damn my red-head temper.

"Okay, you want to know? Hmmm? Do you really? Well, then, _Mister_ Potter, let me tell you! _You _are my problem! You and that... that... that messy hair of yours! Prancing all about Hogwarts! It's annoying! And now, now you're taking that-" I burst out, hands thrown up in the air (yes, it didn't just happen in movies), breathing heavily, but I cut myself off before I could reveal too much. Merlin, _what __was __I __doing?_ How could I have almost said that?

"I... _what?_" James said, confused. I didn't blame him. Not even _I_ knew what I was doing.

"It's just that you're taking _Olive_ to the Ball!" I said, wanting to stop. But, of course, my traitor mouth betrayed me, "And... well, _I _want to go! With you!" I immediately clamped my hand over my mouth. Stupid mouth!

"What are you _saying_? I think you're ill, Lily. What do you mean, you want to go with me?"

"I mean what I mean, you prat! I want to go with you! But you're taking Olive! Merlin, _why __is __this __so __hard_?" I shouted.

Before he could reply, though, we heard a polite cough.

"Hello, Lily. James," a soft, powerful male voice greeted. We both turned around, and were met with the rather odd appearance of Albus Dumbledore. Today, he was wearing a silver cloak with purple stars, and it was twinkling. Just like his blue eyes were, as he looked us over,

"Might I ask why my two Heads are yelling in the middle of an abandoned corridor?" he asked, the twinkle never leaving his eyes, though he looked as if he knew the answer already. I suppose he had heard me. I wasn't known for being the quite one.

"We were just... going. To the Heads' Dorms. Yeah. Just... leaving..." I said, slowly inching away. His x-ray stare (which always creeped me out) looked me over, peering into the depths of my soul. Okay, fine, maybe I was exaggerating a bit. But it was still extremely creepy.

"Very well. Please, do carry on with your... conversation," he said, and then turned on his heel and walked away, robes billowing in an invisible wind. I turned to James, probably to say something about his robes, but what I saw stopped me. James looked angry. Very angry.

"Let's go to the Dorms," he said, in an obvious attempt to conceal his unconcealed anger.

"James... what's wrong?" I asked timidly. Merlin, I had upset him!

"Nothing."

"James..."

"Please, let's get to the Dorms first. I'd rather talk in there."

"I... okay," I said, frowning, completely confused and hurt. He hadn't replied to my outburst. He hadn't said anything about the Ball. I knew it. I _knew_ he didn't like me. I followed James, who had already started walking ahead of me, trying to stop the tears.

_Click_.

The door to the dorms closed. I looked around, at the Gryffindor colors decorating the dorms (since both Heads were Gryffindor), the comfy chairs set near the brick fireplace, the two separate stairs leading to the two different rooms. It really was a nice place.

James turned to me,

"What was that all about? What do you mean, Lily?" he said. I had only seen him this serious when I had asked him about Remus's affliction.

"What... what do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb! I mean about the Ball."

"Oh. Um... well... I just... it's just," I stopped. I was obviously failing miserably at my attempt to form a coherent sentence. I took a deep breath, and started again, "It's just that, well, I... I like you?" it came out as a question. James looked flabbergasted, but still had that angry look in his eyes.

"Wait. You mean... _like_ like? As in, _dating_ like?"

I looked down and felt myself starting to blush,

"Yeah. I guess."

"What the _hell_ do you mean? You can't just... you can't just do that!"

"Do... do what?"

"You can't just start liking me!"

"But... why?"

"Why? Because I'm so close to getting over you! That's why! I just came to terms with the fact that I was never going to get you! And now you just come up to me, and say that you _like_ me? Do you know how hard that is? A girl, that you chased after for about three years, one who you _almost _got over, randomly deciding that she wants you now? It's just..." he trailed off, and all his anger deflated. He suddenly looked tired, and sat heavily down on the chair next to the fireplace. He put his head in his hands,

"It's just... Lily. Are you sure about this? Are you sure you're not just kidding?"

I went to him, and leaned down,

"James..." I called out softly. He looked up. "James, I wouldn't do that to you. I really _do _like you. Besides, you... you don't even want to take me," I said, and looked down to hide my welling eyes. James reached out and made me look at him.

"Oh, Lily... Do you really think that I'll say no? After I've chased after you for so long?"

"But... but you just said... that..." I trailed off, both of us leaning toward each other. My eyes fluttered shut, and suddenly, his soft, firm lips were on mine. Since we were both sitting down, it was a bit awkward, but, _Merlin_, this man could _kiss_. My hands knotted into his hair, his arms encircled my waist, and I moaned softly into his mouth. We broke apart, and he looked at me, eyes shining, hair messier than before, glasses slightly askew.

"So, I was wondering... do you want to go to the Ball with me?" he asked, a lopsided grin on his face. I chuckled softly,

"Hmmm... You know what? I think I will."

"Good to hear," he replied, smiling, and we both leaned toward each other, lips meeting once again.

* * *

**Cliche? Why, yes, thank you for noticing XD  
Anyway, please, don't forget to review! And thanks for reading :D**

~SCYS


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